Subject: Re: ARC system and SGI
To: Soren S. Jorvang <soren@wheel.dk>
From: Warner Losh <imp@village.org>
List: port-arc
Date: 04/18/2000 01:29:53
In message <20000418092506.A27875@gnyf.wheel.dk> "Soren S. Jorvang" writes:
: Hm? I don't know of any SGI MIPS systems capable of running in LE
: mode, so I doubt any such functionality works in practice.

I think you are right.

: > - how differs the ROM monitor and/or sash of SGI's Insel-Intide NT box
: >   from MIPS?
: 
: I don't know about their i386 boxes, but the ARCS interfaces is very
: similar to the non-SGI ARC, althought there are some differences.
: When using just the most basic functionality, the major difference
: is that the memory descriptor type constants are different.

Looking at the Linux arc boot code things are similar enough to have
very few ifdefs for sgi's arc boot env and microsoft's.

I don't think that sgi boxes can run in both endians.  Outside of eval 
boards that make it just a jumper, I'm not aware of too many systems
that can flop their byte sex at all.  The MIPS Magnum 4000 and its
close relative the Microsoft Jazz are notable exceptions.

Warner